By: Nick Gambino
Subscription-based services exist in nearly every industry – content streaming, food delivery, laundry services, etc. In recent months, luxury automakers have embraced the subscriber model in an effort to make their flashiest of cars accessible to “everyone.” Now Mercedes-Benz has joined the pack.
“Experience the best of Mercedes-Benz, one amazing vehicle at a time,” the website reads. While the landing page still says the program is coming soon to Philadelphia and Nashville, we were able to glean more details from their press release.
The Mercedes-Benz Collection is starting as a pilot in June in the two cities mentioned above. Similar to other subscriptions, it will include several tiers that seemingly offer better (more expensive) models the higher you go.
“Subscribers can choose from a broad array of Mercedes-Benz offerings including SUV, sedan, coupe, cabriolet, roadster and wagon models,” the press release states. “Each tier will also allow access to the company’s popular high-performance Mercedes-AMG models.” The AMG models are the highly coveted Mercedes high-performance cars.
Now earlier I stated these programs were established as a means to ensure luxury vehicles were available to everyone. You’ll note I put that in quotes. Keeping up with monthly payments will feel like you’re paying a second mortgage, but instead of a spacious house with multiple bathrooms and a stretch of land, you’ll have your chose of a nice shiny car with 4 wheels. So…comparable, right?
Mercedes hasn’t released any information on what we might expect to pay for even their cheapest plan, but if we take a look at comparable programs already in play, we can get an idea.
BMW’s lowest plan fetches $2,000 a month while Porsche asks for a whopping $3,000 a month to drive their sports cars. Feels like a second mortgage, doesn’t it? Even if you were to seek out the cheapest luxury car subscription around, you’d wind up with a Volvo plan which can go as low as $600 a month. Not as bad as $2,000, but it’s not chump change either.
Honestly though, who’s comparing a Volvo to a Mercedes-Benz? I never heard Janis Joplin cry for the Lord to buy her a Volvo.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Gambino is a regular script writer and tech beat reporter for NewsWatch. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.
